Sup’s ‘96 ProFlex 856 Resto-Mod

[Suprachrgd82]

In ‘09 i was active here and resto-modded & weight weenie’d a ‘95 GT Pantera/Avalanche (21lbs). It’s been a great driver for the past 12 years.
I had also picked up a ProFlex Animal that got buried in the garage (due to having Presta valve stems and no adapter to Schrader). Now it’s time to finish the ol’ girl. A parts bin find at the local shop of a RaceFace stem motivated me to finish the project. My daughter is gonna help turn wrenches, too. The bike is 100% complete but only about 80% original. Before I dig her out of the garage, I’m collecting parts and rebuilding a Manitou 4. The postman is eagerly bringing Easton handlebars, XT trigger shifters, XT & Mavic wheels, Onza bar ends, SFP elastomers, and another Manitou 4.
Here’s round 1 of the project;

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Next up will be to strip the frame and repaint. I’m looking for color suggestions. Whatchoo got for me?

 

[Suprachrgd82]

SFP elastomers arrived today. Disassembly of the frame will likely start this weekend.

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Fork is complete. What an awesome adventure that was to clean out melted gooey old elastomers. It required several scrubbings with automotive hand cleaner, denatured alcohol, dish soap and a bottle brush. New SFP elastomers are in minus the “3rd stage” elastomer to soften the ride.

Paint stripper and primers are on the ready. My daughter says we’re going to hydro-dip the frame, so off to OHW Paint we go to select base color and graphics.

Parts are arriving daily. I’m getting amped!

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Yesterday and today more parts arrived - XTR derailleur, XT cassette, another Manitou 4 in fantastic condition (except for the elastomers), and a Beast frame in 9/10 condition with the fabulous non-pressurized oil damper. I now have 90% of the parts to build a new bike and leave the Animal untouched.

 

[Suprachrgd82]

As it turns out, Proflex ferrules/step-downs/cable stops are quite difficult to find. Jagwire stops look perfect, but are 2mm too big to fit in Proflex’s open cable guides. I had to rob them off the Animal (who will get some Campagnolo ferrules in hopes of fitment). The ol’ girl is getting put together a little more every day.

 

[Suprachrgd82]

It’s starting to look bike-ish

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Almost there. I’m awaiting an Answer seat clamp and HG40 chain to complete the parts acquisition phase. At 225lbs, my greatest fear is that I’m too heavy to ride it, in which case my daughter will have a sweet new [old] bike.

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Well gents, here she is. The first stage of fine tuning is done. I’m gonna put on 20 miles tonight with my daughter and finish the fine adjustments.
The story behind this bike; when I was 15 1/2 years old I managed to keep my grades up just long enough to get a work permit. 4 months into my fast food burger flipping, I got myself sent to behavior modification boarding school in the NorCal mountains, but not before buying a ‘92 GT Tequesta and Rock Shox Quadra with my burger money. I got 20 minutes of ride time before being shipped out to school. Again, I managed to get my grades up long enough to earn my bike priveleges and rode that GT every chance I could. The school had a subscription to Mountain Bike magazine which I read cover to cover repeatedly. ProFlex and Mountain Cycle were brand new and exotic, so awe inspiring. During my last few months at school I managed to wrap the rear derailleur around the cassette and bent the rear dropout. I bent it back and ran a helicoil for a few years. Eventually I came across an aluminum GT frame (presumably ’95 Avalanche) in ‘08 and rebuilt the Tequesta. Though nothing is original from the Tequesta today, it has always been my go-to mountain bike, and I regard it as my first symbol of independence. I still ride it regularly. The Proflex fantasy hasn’t left my mind in over 25 years. The local bike shop had a RaceFace stem in their parts bin that they threw in to a crank purchase for my son’s BMX. That stem triggered me to spend daily hours surfing on ebay and build this ol’ gal.

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Just put in 15 city miles on her maiden voyage. This is my first ride on a full suspension bike and with XT and XTR components. Wow, what a joy that was! Even with the rock hard Selle that can be likened to roosting atop a red brick the ride is plush and the shifts are crisp. My daughter, on the other hand, still prefers her 2019 Specialized hardtail with bizarre geometry (to me). I’ll take the forward lean and bar ends over any of the new stuff any day.